Cult and Terror Groups Essay Example for Free

Cult and Terror Groups Essay No one in his right mind would volunteer to join a terrorist group or a cult. It boggles the mind why people would allow themselves to suffer by joining a secretive organization that demands absolute obedience and self-less sacrifice. But then again, one has to see it form their point of view for the outside world may see a terror group or a personality cult but for the members they see different. They see themselves a part of a freedom fighting organization or a group that exists to save the world. Irregardless of what is the correct view the question remains – why would anybody wants to be a terrorist or a member of a cult? This study will take a look at cults and terror groups based on the writings of The Jonestown Cult It has already been said, no one in his right mind would like to join a cult. And here is why, in a nutshell, a cult is secretive organization where members surrender their collective rights to follow the whims and desires of a leader or a small group of leaders. Who would like to be part of something like that? Who would surrender personal freedoms on account of another human being? But there are at least three major reasons why an unsuspecting person is sucked into a powerful black hole such as a personality cult and these are enumerated as follows: 1. A deep emotional and psychological need that finds fulfillment within the cult; 2. Finding a sense of purpose in the vision of the leader(s); and 3. A series of events or signs that seems to confirm the sincerity, divine right, and authority of the particular leader. Emotional Need There is no need to elaborate on Debbie Claytons emotional and psychological problem. But there is a need to reiterate that it is his need for his fathers attention and a great need for a deeper relationship with his mother that made it easy for her to join Jonestown. A cult will offer the same sense of camaraderie and a family for someone despairing for such emotional and psychological salve. Debbie adds that it is not only his utter sense of failure and desperate need to connect with real people, but is also her background that prepared her to accept Jim Jones. She realized that she always had this deep felt need to please her father. And when her father was no longer there as the object of her childish affections, Jim Jones was ready to take his place. A Sense of Purpose Debbie Clayton needed help so she can set her priorities straight. She tells herself shes lost and she has found the way when Jim Jones pointed to her the right way when he declared, â€Å"Come forward. Be a part of a fellowship that will work to rid our society of hatred, racism, and poverty. I am inviting you to join in a new beginning, a life you can feel challenged by. Through my ministry you can help make history† (as cited in Clayton). And for Debbie it was hard to resist. The only problem here is that the cult leader was not there to fulfill Debbies dreams but instead used her to fulfill his vision. Jim Jones knowingly or unknowingly made Debbie accept a new reality, that the cult leaders goals and aspirations are now her main priorities in life. A true leader will serve ad will make other people discover what they are meant to be and then support that person until he or she realizes their dreams. Confirmation This is a very interesting aspect in the study of cults, in the case of Jim Jones and his interaction with Claytons and the subsequent joining of Larry – after three years Debbie Clayton joined the cult – into the Jonestown community. It must be understood that the confirmation can be likened to a sign or an event that is so unlikely that the person could not help but conclude that the cult leader is genuine and has the divine authority to lead. These signs can be witnessed by the members or heard it as part of the history of the organization. Going back to the series of events that led the Claytons in accepting the leadership and authority of Jim Jones, the first sign was Larrys seemingly miraculous exemption from being drafted in Vietnam, with the help of course from the charismatic leader. The second sign was the realization that Jim Jones was correct about his opposition against the war in Vietnam, the third sign was knowing about Jones exploits such as being appointed as a Director of a certain Human Rights commission when Jones was only 31 years old. The fourth sign was Jim Jones adopting three Korean orphans and having a Negro for an associate. For Debbie Clayton her confirmation was in knowing all of the above and in seeing a letter to Jim Jones that was singed by then Governor Ronald Reagan. One could only surmise what is going on in the minds of Larry and Debbie Clayton but their thought process could be similar to the one below: ? Jim Jones is 100 percent genuine because he went to great lengths just so he can demonstrate his principles in action; ? The letter exempting Larry from being drafted in Vietnam and Ronald Reagans letter validates Jones as a great leader; and ? A vibrant mixed congregation is irrefutable proof of his compassion and deep love for the minorities who are usually treated as outcasts and second-class citizens in America. Inferences It is interesting to point out some of the ideas gleaned from Debbie Claytons narration of her experience inside Jonestown. Some of the more fascinating ideas that almost jumped out of the pages is the realization that cult members are not poor and that they are not uneducated, in fact many of them were really smart – the college or university type. For instance one could easily tell that Larry, Carolyn, and Debbie are the sort that can afford to earn a college degree and that their families had the means to allow them to get what they want in life. Another interesting thing that needs mentioning here is the idea that cult members will normally not dig deep enough to paint a coherent understanding of their doctrines etc. For instance Jim Jones claims to be Christian and yet he also teaches a form of reincarnation. A quick survey of Christian history and Jesus teachings will reveal that it cannot mix with reincarnation that should have been a warning for Debbie but once the three aforementioned factors are in effect, the person would only hear what he or she wants to believe at that point. Terrorists It can be argued that those who wanted to join a terror group do not see themselves as terrorists. At least they see themselves as soldiers and freedom fighters. Although Jessica Stern pointed out that, â€Å" developing a single profile of suicide bombers in nearly impossible† (as cited in Stern), one can easily conclude that economic difficulties, politics and religion are the major factors that made them to join. It is not uncommon to discover that families of suicide bombers are taken cared of after their martyred sons successfully carried out a mission. On the religious side there is no need to elaborate as to its impact on the recruitment process. But it is interesting to point out some of the important aspects of Islam. First of all, Islams founder Mohammed was the first to use the ten virgins and promise of paradise as part of the perks and privileges of joining Islam. It is curious why Stern did not elaborate on this and instead went on trying to defend Islam as a non-violent religion when Stern herself quoted portions of the Koran justifying killing for the sake of achieving religious goals. The political aspect can be summarized in one word – Israel. Their hatred for this tiny nation is understandable but it is hard to believe that a person can kill himself simply on the basis of political ideologies. This brings to the realization that religion and politics are seen as one, the intermingling is hard to separate. This means that religious beliefs help shape their politics. Intense hatred for Israel can be explained by the constant fighting. But knowing that the Arabs hated Israel even when the nation was still in its fledgling state after World War II plainly reveals that there anger is fueled by something more than the need for retribution and this is because the Arabs were the first to strike. Fanaticism If terror groups and cults are compared and contrasted one fact becomes visible and it is their fanatical obsession with their respective organizations and blind obedience to their leaders. But here the similarities end. For cults there seems to be a pattern of first having found an answer to their deep emotional and psychological need. This is the point of entry for cult members. For the terror group on the other hand there may be also be a an emotional and psychological need but this is eclipsed by religion and politics. A cult member may later on express love for the community but it can be argued that he or she is only doing so because the community is the source of love, affection, and the main reason why he or she can satisfy that aching emotional and psychological need. For the terror group on the other hand the reasons are less selfish. It is as if the recruitment process is being reversed. For the cult the self-help comes first that is why they will join the group. For the terror group, the community comes first and then self-help such as money for their families comes in as part of the perks and privileges. Deadly Intent A cult may be characterized as a group that is fanatical about a certain set of beliefs. It can be religious or ideological and there is nothing wrong with that. The Greenpeace Movement, a group of environmental activists can be as fanatic as the best of them but the only difference is that cult groups are in business because they want to save the person or the community. The terror group on the other hand is focused on killing others. It can be argued that cults are capable of killing but it is not the usual pattern. On the other hand terror groups used murder and suicide bombings as their main tools. Frustrations One is bewildered by the lack of diplomacy. If Islamic radicals believe that they are in the right path and that their religion is the only path then why would they encourage their members to go on dialogue with their Western counterparts? It does not require a rocket scientist to realize that the more attacks on the U. S. mainland will only increase retribution. But this is just one of the major reasons why dialogue is needed. The more important reason why they must engage in dialogue is the simple fact that they are killing innocent civilians. Not only is their tactics not working to make the world aware of their plight – as of recent history Afghanistan and Iraq were reduced to rubble by incessant fighting – they are also killing those who have nothing to do with Middle East politics. Conclusion It is fascinating to study the similarities of cults and terror groups. Both types of organizations or community require a charismatic leader and blind obedience to the same leader. But this is the point where their paths would diverge. The leader of the cult will help his members only because he wants them to make his dreams and aspirations their own. Thus the cult operates on a more personal level, each group characterized by the personality of the cult leader. Terror groups on the other hand – specifically Islamic terror groups – are bent on killing for the sake of forcing the issue. Cults are fanatical but murder and suicide bombings are not their main tools of choice. Works Cited Layton, Deborah. Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor’s Story of Life and Death in the People’s Temple. Doubleday, 1998. Smith, Paul. The Terrorism Ahead: Confronting Transnational Violence in the Twenty First Century. M. E. Sharpe Publishers, 2008. Stern, Jessica. Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill. Harper Collins, 2003.

Essay --

Humans have long been evolving physically and mentally in order to survive on earth. They have evolved their physical attributes as well as their intelligence to properly prepare them for the changing environments on earth. Since the Old Stone age, human intelligence has allowed them to continue to adapt to various tasks that were commonly performed by the Old Stone age people. These common behaviors and lifestyles of the prehistoric times would eventually help the human communities to survive in this dangerous world as a successful species. Most of our everyday activities and common behaviors such as living in homes, having a nutritional diet, inventing new innovations, and particularly surviving as a group, are derived from the lifestyles of the Paleolithic people. Although there may be some differences between the aspects of life from the prehistoric and modern times, much of the features of how people lived back then have played a significant role in securing the survival of huma nity today. There are countless differences and similarities between the behaviors of the paleolithic people and the people of the twenty-first century. While the people of the Old Stone age lived in dark caves filled with nothing but cold wind, people today live in houses and apartments built with air conditioning system and readily accompanied furniture. The prehistoric people are able to find comfort by staying in caves that prevent them from the dangers of the wilderness while people of the modern time find comfort by being at home, not exactly because it is safe, but because they can relax to their hearts’ content. Although both places have completely different appearances in terms of a place for shelter, humans that live in these places can stil... ... different times eating food in totally contrasting environment, group survival has always been applied to modern day people and their way of living. The history and the existence of the Old Stone Age, or the Paleolithic era, has an undeniably large effect on our society today. Living in the harsh environment of the world without the technological advancements seems hard enough, but surviving without the elements for living prepared for them is even more difficult. With all the common behaviors that were translated to our everyday life, healthy diets that prevent humans from disastrous results, new innovations that remained useful to us today, and surviving skills that were passed down from generation to generation, our whole society owes everything to those of the Paleolithic era. Without them, there would be no â€Å"us† today to walk the earth as a prosperous species.

The Avengers Review

The Avengers PG-13 Nick Mantegani 5/7/2012 EN121 The Avengers is a Sci-Fi/Action movie directed by Joss Whedon. It is rated PG-13. The movie stars a vast assortment of stars, including Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson and more. It was released in May 2012, and is available in a 3D format. The Avengers is the first movie in an ongoing series.The film acts as a sort of sequel to several films made by Marvel Comics, including Iron Man and Iron Man 2 (starring Downey, 2008 and 2010, respectively), The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton, though the character has been replaced by Mark Ruffalo, 2008), Thor (Chris Hemsworth, 2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (Evans, 2011). In The Avengers, ancient Norse god Loki (Tom Hiddleston), brother of Thor, gathers an army from an alternate universe to enslave the people of Earth. He acquires a powerful weapon called the Tesseract, capable of destroying nearly anything.Nick Fury (Jackson), director of S. H. I. E. L. D. , an ag ency protecting the world, enlists the help of a group of superheroes. Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) join the effort, and are later joined by Thor and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Though at first the big personalities of the heroes clash and they fight each other, Fury eventually teaches them the importance of working together as a team to defeat the enemy. Fighting alongside each other, the Avengers manage to thwart Loki’s evil plan and send him, along with Thor, and Loki’s army, back to where they came from.The Avengers is every comic book lovers dream come true. The individual hero movies leading up to the release of this movie were such a success that fans had been salivating to see these extraordinary beings come together and fight alongside each other. Whedon brought the characters together in a spectacular way. The banter between Iron Man and Bruce Banner (Hulk) shows a meeting of great minds. The relationship between the Black Widow and Hawkeye creates many questions that make these two lesser characters seem much more significant, which is important to the appeal of the movie.The clashing personalities of Iron Man, a self-described â€Å"Playboy billionaire† who questions everything and doesn’t play by the rules and Captain America, a man thrust forward in time from the 1940’s who still has his sense of values and morals from the his time, shows two men who have to work together who couldn’t be any different. All these relationships and more are what makes the fact that all these people coming together is truly a remarkable thing and could potentially have been disappointing if Whedon had downplayed any of the elements that makes each character who they are.Whedon managed to take each character and let them act as they are intended to, such as Stark’s cockiness and Thor’s nobility, and still be able to not glorify or discourage any of them to make the team more significant than the individual heroes. Roger Ebert compares the Avengers to the dogs in the Best in Show category at the Westminster Dog Club. â€Å"You have breeds that seem completely different from one another (Labradors, poodles, boxers, Dalmatians), and yet they're all champions,† says Ebert.He is right; though the characters differ in many ways, they are all the same in that they have spectacular powers that they use to fight evil. This makes the â€Å"team mentality† work perfectly in this film. Never did one character seem to mean more to the group than any of the others (except for when Hawkeye was brainwashed to fighting for Loki, but once he returned, he was just as much as part of the Avengers as anybody). The Avengers did not start acting like a team at first, but once they did, they managed to defeat Loki with relative ease.The message of the film is that it stresses the importance of teamwork. It shows that no matter how talented the individuals in a group may be, they can’t perform to their best abilities until they all start working together and use each other to bring out the best in themselves. The acting in The Avengers was fantastic all around. Those who were fans of the original Avengers comics (or the individual heroes’ comics) expect their idols to be portrayed accurately, and just about every single one is done so to a great degree.Ruffalo, Renner, and Johansson do great justice to their characters, and are very likeable and portrayed well. Ruffalo does a particularly good job in showing his struggle to keep his cool so as not to transform into the Hulk. Hemsworth shows that apart from his fantastic resemblance to the comic book character and his obvious good looks, he has the right idea as to what Thor is really like. He is a god and a mighty warrior, but he knows he is not above anyone and will protect the earth no matter what. Evans and Downey both fit their characters perfectly, and their attitudes are correct for who they play.Samuel L. Jackson does a great acting job in the movie. You cheer for him at times, and then despise him at others, which is always impressive when a character can get that sort of reaction out of an audience. However, as great as his acting was, it seems as if the creators of the recent Marvel Comics movies wanted to put him in The Avengers somehow, so they stuck him in the role as Nick Fury. To Avengers fans, this could be slightly irritating. Clearly he looks nothing like the original character, and the original character never acted like Samuel L.Jackson, but now Nick Fury will be remembered always by many, many people as a Jackson-like character, which is frowned upon by fans of the comic book. A more accurate portrayal of Fury could’ve been done by George Clooney, who is also a talented actor and, when one compares the two, looks exactly like the character in the comic book. The textbook says, â€Å"There is the ever-present danger that a ll the [special effects] in action, adventure, and science-fiction films will dazzle us but do little to increase our understanding of the world we live in or the drama of human life. (264). The Avengers relies heavily on the use of special effects and CGI to portray the heroes in action or the world itself, from the giant, levitating headquarters of S. H. I. E. L. D. to monsters only Ebert can describe as â€Å"Loki's ginormous slithering, undulating snake-lizard-dragon machine, which seems almost to have a mind of its own and is backed up by countless snakelings. † Indeed, it would be impossible to show the same movie without as much CGI as was used to make it. However, the heavy amount of CGI doesn’t take away from the acting and story of the ovie. If anything, it enhances the characters in not just a visual way, but it shows the viewer who the characters are and what they are truly capable of. In addition, the 3D format of The Avengers is a nice touch. For decades, comic book fans have enjoyed the adventures of the Avengers and have grown up in love with the heroes in the super group. A large scale movie featuring this group is what the fans have always desired. Each superhero received their own movie, building anticipation for the combining of these extraordinary people.Whedon made that combination happen, and the actors involved brought these heroes to life in grand style. Works Cited Barsam, Richard Meran. , and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010. Print. Ebert, Roger. â€Å"The Avengers. † Roger Ebert. com. 2 May 2012. Web. 07 May 2012. . IMDb. â€Å"The Avengers. † Internet Movie Database. Web. 07 May 2012. .

Mentoring Systems For New Hires - 1293 Words

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